Abstract: The form and function of human tissues and organs constitute a cornerstone of human health across multiple scales. However, it remains a critical challenge in biomedical sciences to fully understand how mechanical factors fundamentally sculpt physiological structures and mediate biological functioning in the human body. In this presentation, I will discuss how mechanics help regulate cardiovascular health and musculoskeletal development. Specifically, I will introduce a framework that integrates theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches to investigate how viscoelasticity-based mechanical protection restores cardiac function following a myocardial infarction, and how mechanical forces shape the segmented morphology of vertebrate spine during early embryo development.

Bio: Dr. Yue Liu is currently a senior postdoctoral associate in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests mainly focus on understanding the fundamental mechanical principles underlying the fate, form, and function of biological systems, with an aim of using such knowledge to address interdisciplinary challenges in human health and physiology. He has employed theoretical, computational, and experimental methodologies to develop mechanical therapy for myocardial infarction, understand microstructural basis of auxetic biomaterials, investigate antibiotic drug-induced bacterial membrane rupture, and decipher mechanical forces instructing human morphogenesis. His research has led to a series of publications on peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Biomedical Engineering, Cell Stem Cell, Nature Reviews Physics, Science Advances,etc. Prior to MIT, Dr. Liu has worked at the University of Michigan as a research fellow. He received his Ph.D. in mechanics of solids and M.S. in applied mathematics from Brown University. His research and academic accomplishments have been recognized by many awards including the Presidential Fellowship at Brown University.